The al-Barnawi faction has reportedly sought to win the people of the Lake Chad basin over by creating an economy—which can then be taxed—by providing certain incentives and financial and material support.

There is now more violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt than in the northeast, where Boko Haram continues its operations. Ostensibly, violence in the Middle Belt is driven by conflict between “herders” and “farmers” over land use, ethnic and religious rivalries, and (likely but hard to prove) the agendas of rival politicians.